The faith community and civic leaders will unite on Sunday, September 8, to commemorate a half-century of spreading the Gospel by the Rev. Dr. Melvin V. Wade, Sr., the pastor of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

The observance begins at the 9:15 a.m. worship service at Mount Moriah, 4269 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. His son, Pastor David L. Wade, and members of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Mesa, AZ, will join the fellowship.

At 6 p.m., the ’50 Years of Preaching Christ the Hope of Glory’ Celebration Dinner takes place at the Westin Hotel LAX, 5400 West Century Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Stephen J. Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America. Recording artist Vickie Winans will perform.

Reflecting on his ministry, Dr. Wade said, “I’m amazed that the Lord would tap me for this kind of an assignment and then to favor me the way He has is just an awesome experience.”

As for the future, he plans to concentrate on preparing Mount Moriah for its next leader.

“My real main focus is to try to set our church in such an order that the next man will not have difficulty, but a smooth transition and take it to an unknown height, far excelling where I sought to bring it,” he said.